'No reason for us to be apologetic'
Janhvi and Pankaj have commented on the ongoing backlash against their new film, ‘Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl’
With every new release, actor Janhvi Kapoor finds herself with a target on her back and it is no different this time around, with 'Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl' as only the second feature of her career.
"I have not made my peace with it, but the sentiment has been fuelled and amplified in the last month. I hope it is not something that I have to deal with every release," said the actor about being forced, again and again, to prove herself.
In the last month, several prominent film personalities have found themselves at the receiving end of vicious online attacks. After the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, those in the inner circle of Bollywood, like Janhvi, the daughter of the late screen icon Sridevi and film producer Boney Kapoor, have been bullied because a vocal corner of the internet believes they have robbed 'outsiders' like the 'Kai Po Che' star of their deserving place in the industry.
"I have kind of fast-tracked into this system already. I have skipped many steps that many people have had to fight for. I have gotten chances that many people would not have gotten easily. I'm here already through a much easier route than most people have had. So from now if the journey is a little bit of an uphill climb and it is a little bit harder for people to accept me then I will accept it. If I have skipped a certain portion of the journey that people are subjected to then this is my journey from here on and I will embrace it," said the 'Dhadak' star.
But people seem to have forgotten that her co-star in the film, Pankaj Tripathi, is living, breathing proof of the theory that true talent, regardless of where it comes from, will find its place. Pankaj said that "it is not okay" for people to have been so quick to judge Gunjan Saxena. "Right now, it is as if the book is being judged by its cover," he said.
The film, a biopic of the 'Indian Air Force's first female combat pilot has been caught in the crossfire of the ongoing 'insider-outsider' debate. Pankaj also said, "I know that we live in a democracy and everyone has the freedom to express themselves, but it would be better if they watch the film first. That would be more fruitful. Right now people are shooting in the dark."
Janhvi said that she is not actively trying to navigate through the unfortunate situation, but is going about it in the way that she would have "if this was not the sentiment on social media."
